CASA recognized for serving every foster child in Jefferson County in 2010

Court Appointed Special Advocates of Southeast Texas have been recognized for serving every child in the foster care system in Jefferson County last year.

CASA of Southeast Texas was recently recognized by Texas CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) for serving 100 percent of the children in the foster care system in Jefferson County. CASA of Southeast Texas served 308 children so far in Fiscal Year 2011.

“No child should ever have to navigate the child welfare system without the benefit of CASA advocacy,” said Texas CASA Chief Executive Officer Joe Gagen.

That level of service is not the same across the state; half of the 43,000 children in foster care do not have CASA volunteers to speak up for children in foster care, Gagen said. Only 22,020 children were served by CASA programs and 7,046 CASA volunteers.

“Only serving half the children in care is unacceptable and we must do more as a state. We are proud that CASA of Southeast Texas is leading the way in achieving our statewide goal of having a CASA volunteer for every child who needs one,” said Gagen.

Texas CASA is a network of 69 local CASA programs serving children in 208 Texas counties. Only 14 programs in the network achieved the goal of serving every child in care.

CASA of Southeast Texas wants to have a CASA volunteer for every child in the state’s custody,” said Lanis McWilliams. “We believe it is very important to ensure that a child’s voice is heard in the courts. Our ability to serve every child is a reflection of the priority that people and businesses in our community place on ensuring that children have the opportunity to grow up in safe, loving homes.”

“However, the need for volunteers never ends. Children move in and out of the system and sometimes CASA volunteers are unable to continue volunteering because of changes in their personal lives,” said Lanis McWilliams. “For that reason, we continue to need more CASA volunteers so that children’s voices can be heard in the courts.”

Children who have CASA volunteers typically spend a shorter time in the foster care system and get the services they need to begin to heal, McWilliams said.

“CASA volunteers are regular people who have chosen to speak up for abused and neglected children in their community,” she said.

CASA volunteers are screened, trained and appointed by the court to advocate for the best interests of a child, said McWilliams. Because the foster care system is so overburdened and underfunded, often the CASA volunteer is the one constant in a child’s life while he or she goes through the foster care system. CASA volunteers work to move the children through foster care and into safe permanent homes as quickly as possible.